Of Snowflakes and Starbucks
by ShunKazamis-Girl
Summary: Arriving in Seattle, Washington for a long-awaited snow day, Jack visits the city only to find an unusual surprise waiting for him...


**Eugene: **Hey~ I'm writing up a new fanfic! And just in time for the winter break! This is part of an art/fic trade with AllyEdFrown in deviantArt, so I'm writing a sweet and fluffy Rise of the Guardians one-shot for her! It was originally supposed to be her Christmas present, but oh well. This was inspired by: 1. first snow of the year (thanks, Jack~!), 2. Starbucks, 3. their awesome hot chocolate (both normal and salted caramel) and Peppermint Mocha, and 4. this Starbucks commercial they used to show during Christmas; if you want to watch it, look up "Starbucks Snowflake Commercial" on Youtube. Anyway, ONWARD WITH THE ONE-SHOT!

* * *

The fern frost was swirling everywhere and the gusts of wind twirled around in the air. Jack was flying past the trees and buildings, whooping and laughing all the way. He was just finishing up his rounds in Romania, making final stops in Bucharest and the areas surrounding Vlad the Impaler's castle. While sending ice, frost, and snow down to the ground, he was struggling to choose the next city he should fly to. Sure, he flew to places like New York, Burgess, St. Petersburg, and a few others, but he wanted to go to different cities for a change.

After witnessing a few urban-looking buildings and a small yet quaint coffee shop nearby, he decided that his next destination will be Seattle, Washington. He hadn't visited the place for a while and wanted to make up from the lack of snow days there. Rising temperatures can do that, you know, but he was determined to bring snow to that city, no matter what it'll take.

Once he added a light sprinkle of snow in the sky, he cried out, "Wind, take me to Seattle!"

The wind complied, and Jack flew to his final stop of the day.

* * *

When he arrived in the Emerald City, he noticed that it was sometime in the afternoon, the cloudy skies appearing white as ivory and soft as feathers. It wasn't around noon, but it had yet to be soaked in the inkiness of night, so it must've been around 2:00 PM, 3:00 PM, or 4:00 PM. The temperature was below 0°C, perfect for wintry weather. Observing the city skyline from above, Jack recognized the Space Needle, the Seattle Central Library, the EMP Museum, CenturyLink Field, and Safeco Field. He also saw the ferries and the monorail tracks he remembered encountering from his last visit. Wanting to explore more before bringing the snow in, he headed to the center of Seattle.

He followed the cars and he hovered over shoppers. He peeked inside the museums and theaters, and went past the local shops, as well as The Cheesecake Factory and Todai. He floated, he flitted, and he danced in the air. After many minutes of searching, Jack decided that he will start the long-awaited snow day right above Pike Place Market. Turning left and right, up and down, he weaved his way in the streets towards his destination. Just when he was about to wave up some snow in his staff, he saw an unusual sight…

He found many snowflakes, all about as big as Bunny's head. They were all made of paper, the kind that you would have to twist, turn, and to tape or to glue; those must be 3D snowflakes. Some flew up while others hovered down. Most stayed in the same spot while a few started to fly around in different directions. Some stayed in the sky for a long time, while others dropped down and rested on the trees. They were all in different patterns and designs, but they were all beautiful. He didn't make these, but he still interesting. Curious, he went higher and higher, only to find many more of those unusual snowflakes all over Seattle!

They were everywhere! From the top of the Space Needle to the rooftops of apartment buildings, from the grassy fields of the nearest park to the gateways of all the shops, from the insides of cars to the sidewalks, they seemed to be coming from all over the city. Where did they come from? Who made the snowflakes? Jack wasn't sure, but he guessed that the people in Seattle had something to do with it. When he finally made his way towards Pike Place Market, he got the surprise of his life.

All over the marketplace, people were outside decked in their warmest clothes. They were holding wooden or plastic handles wound up in clear strings, the paper snowflakes attached to them. In coordinated groups, they made shapes. And with those shapes came letters. And those letters made… sentences? Jack squinted a bit before realizing that the snowflakes made a message! It said:

**WELCOME JACK FROST**

And that wasn't the only message he received today! In the nearby streets, other salutations greeted him, all arranged in snowflakes.

**I LOVE JACK FROST**

**WELCOME TO THE EMERALD CITY**

**WE MISSED YOU**

**WE LOVE SNOW DAYS**

**WE BELIEVE**

"_T_-_They believe in me_…. _They actually believe in me_! _And they could see me_!" Jack can't help but to smile and to whoop in joy. He didn't think that after all those years, they never lost hope in him. What was even _more _surprising was that he didn't expect that they would actually believe in him long enough to do…. this really sweet thing. Rising up higher and higher into the outer folds of the skies, he waved his staff around a few times, unleashing cold, fluffy snowflakes in their wake. They lightly drifted down towards the Pacific Northwestern city, coating the entire place like powdered sugar on Belgian waffles. The snow was enough to immediately cover the streets, but it was less dangerous, so people wouldn't have to worry about the traffic, especially near the highway. Jack could hear cheering from below, and with a swift turn, he flew back to the marketplace.

Exhausted from his trip back to the surface, he decided to rest up near the location of the first Starbucks. There, he could smell freshly-ground coffee, the light airy aroma of whipped cream, the sweetness of sugar, and the herbal scent of tea. He sat right on the ledge where the local stalls were selling their goods. If he could look very closely at this angle, he could also see the waterfront where the nautical-themed restaurants, the arcade, the Seattle Aquarium, and the Great Wheel were all standing, while the fishermen were looking for their catch of the day on the docks despite the weather. Some of the people on the streets were still flying their snowflakes, as if they were kites, but others just gazed up in their sky with their hot drinks in hand. This sight made Jack smile; he liked seeing children having fun, but he also liked seeing everyone, including the grown-ups, happy. Whenever they would see him, they would wave at him, as if he was one of their own citizens. He would wave back too, just because he felt welcome here.

"Excuse me? Jack?"

Jack snapped out his reverie for a moment to look at whoever was catching his attention. A girl was standing behind him, wearing a white peacoat and a midnight-blue scarf over a striped mocha-coloured cardigan, a black shirt, jeans, and a green Starbucks apron. Her mitten-clad hands held a tray full of red Christmassy Starbucks cups full of their famous coffee. The dark, earthy scent wafted in the cold, crisp air and it smelled heavenly.

"Oh, hello." He greeted as casually as he could, as if being seen was a normal occurrence. Truthfully, he was pretty surprised that she could see him, but he was even more surprised at the drinks she just offered. "Is that coffee?"

The Starbucks employee nodded. "Would you like some? I-I mean, I'm not sure if you could stand hot drinks but… consider it as a thank you."

Jack just chuckled softly at her as he took one of the drinks, a Caffè Americano, and took a sip. Normally, he would've preferred something sweeter like hot chocolate, but somehow, coffee actually felt more fitting. It made him feel nice and warm on the inside, a taste of comfort lingering inside of him. "It's fine; it's just part of my job. I appreciated what you guys did, by the way; it just made my day." He smiled.

The girl let out an 'o' of surprise, but then smiled at the touching words he just said. Cradling her own cup of coffee in her hands, she sat down on the ledge with him. Together, she and Jack watched the blissful happiness that was going down here in Seattle, as people smiled and joyfully played in the snow together for the day.


End file.
